Classic rock legends to hit the state fair stage, joined by a group of local special guests

Since the debut of their first album, their self-titled smash in 1977, Foreigner has spent five decades entertaining rock and roll music fans.

The classic rock legends return to the Alaska State Fair stage Saturday night with a 7 p.m show at the Borealis Theatre.

And the band will not be alone.

Foreigner will be joined by a group among the latest generation of fans of the band, members of the Palmer and Colony high school choirs. Foreigner and the local choir groups will join forces on the 1984 hit “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

Colony High choir director Kelly Rentz said the band’s representatives sent out an all-call in May to area schools looking for local programs to participate. By the time Rentz was able to contact the representatives, Palmer High choir director Braden VanAusdal had already reached them.

“I called him and said if you don’t have enough kids, can we join you? He said, absolutely yes,” Rentz said. “We’re kind of doing it together. I’m really excited about that.”

Rentz said Colony will have 13 students performing and Palmer will have 12.

“What a great opportunity for these kids,” Rentz said.

Both choirs have been practicing during the early weeks of the school year and will have a joint rehearsal in the days before the show.

“I think they’re excited,” Rentz said of her students. “I think they are also really excited that I am excited. I’m an ‘80s girl.”

Foreigner will also donate $500 to each school.

“I thought that was really cool of them,” Rentz said.

Michael Bluestein, the band's keyboard player since 2008, said the chance to perform to a new generation of concert-goers is part of what helps drive the band.

“The songs are still heard on classic rock radio. People’s kids and now grandkids are coming to the show. To see it span generations like that is pretty exciting,” Bluestein said in a phone interview earlier this month.

Foreigner can fill a greatest hits album with just top-20 Billboard charts. The band had 14, among its 47 singles released since 1977, according to an online biography. “I Want to Know What Love Is” hit No. 1 and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” reached No. 2.

While some bands might stray away from some of their hits, Bluestein said Foreigner plays the big songs people know. But that doesn't mean all performances are the same, he said.

“For me, what reinvents it, what makes it exciting night after night is the feedback you get from the audience,” Bluestein said. “Every audience is different. Every audience feels different, just feeding off the excitement coming back to us and see the smiles, hearing the cheers, and listening to them sing along really fuels us. That definitely rejuvenates the band. It's incredible it's still relevant after all these years.”

Saturday’s Alaska State Fair show is part of the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Celebration Tour. Foreigner was inducted into the rock hall in 2024.

“It was quite an honor being there,” Bluestein said.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.